Bedtime Story
by KricketWilliams
Summary: Just a little fairytale. I don't own a thing, as usual.


_AN: Now I am totally in a fluff mood still. Just a sweet little thing. Dedicated to Jessie, who loves a good fairytale. _

She was hesitating calling him. It was one forty-seven AM, he was either busy, or sleeping probably. And this was such a stupid thing. She could take care of this herself, or just simply be exhausted the next day. But as the clock ticked by, she finally dialed his number out of pure distress.

He answered on the first ring. "Yeah, baby girl, what's up?"

"Derek, I'm sorry. You sound tired, I'll-"

He chuckled a little, interrupting her. "Most people are tired at almost two am. Come on, spill. What's the problem?"

She sighed, then stayed quiet for a minute. Finally, she spoke. "I can't sleep. I've been trying for three hours to get some rest, and I just can't do it. If you're busy, oh God, you're not busy, right?"

"It's just me, sugar," he said, the amusement still in his voice. "It's a Wednesday night. I have to work in the morning. I don't usually entertain if I have to work the next day."

"Well, you could've been," she said quickly. She thought of her own weeknight flings. Quick. "I mean, an hour or so, and you'd still be getting decent sleep."

"I have never been done in an hour or so," he murmured softly. "I prefer the all-night approach."

She held the phone and flushed, thinking all sorts of thoughts that were probably not appropriate about her best friend. _What would take all night? I bet he-- _

"What do you need to help you sleep?" he said, interrupting her rather kinky thoughts.

"I tried everything: sleeping pill, a bath, a glass of milk, a glass of wine. Everything," she was pouting. "Nothing's working."

"Hmmm," he said, and she could tell he was thinking. "You laying down?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Shut the lights off and get your sweet self all tucked into bed," he said. "I am going to tell you a bedtime story."

She almost laughed. It was a cute idea, but she didn't think it would work. But she had to give him credit for being so sweet. "Alright, sweetness, I'm there."

"Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom called Quantico, a beautiful princess named Penelope was locked away in a tower," he began. She giggled a little, but he continued. "This princess was forced to work hard all day, looking at multiple images, graphs and numbers, trying to help the handful of knights that depended on her to slay some bad ass dragons."

"Aw, Derek, that's so sw-"

"Shhh, quiet, or this won't work," he said, and she immediately zipped her lips shut. "Back to the story. So, at the end of the day, one of the knights, a really handsome one with brown eyes, brown skin and a fantastic physique-"

"You certainly don't lack in vanity, Morgan," she quipped.

"What did I say about talking?" he warned, and she quieted down. "That knight loved to stop by and see the princess. It was the highlight of his day wishing her a good night, second only to talking to her on the phone all day.

She smiled, holding the phone just a touch closer. She had to hold back a happy sigh.

"He saw the pretty princess was sad this particular night. He walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her. He felt that if he could hold her tight enough, the love inside him would just flow over to her," he murmured softly.

A tear escaped, rolling slowly down her cheek. Every night before he left, he never failed to give her a big hug. She always thought it was just a silly thing that they did. But now she knew the reason why. Her heart quaked.

"One time, when the princess was hurt by a particularly bad dragon, the knight held her so close that he gave her his heart in the process. She has it for safe keeping still this very day." He paused for a minute. "The knight can't think of a better place for his heart than with her."

He was really, truly the best. She didn't think her heart could feel any fuller.

"And the princess was happy knowing the knight would protect her at all costs, and the knight knew that no matter where he had to go, his heart had a home," he said. "And they lived happily ever after."

"I love you too, Derek," she said, sniffling a bit more.

"Get some sleep, Pen," he said. "Goodnight."

And she did.


End file.
